Avaliação de subpopulações de linfócitos B em portadores de Hepatite C crônica

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is one of the main causes of liver disease worldwide and the persistence of the hepatitis C virus can cause cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma, in addition to extrahepatic manifestations. There are few published studies on the characterization of B lymphocyte (BL) subsets in CHC, and a clear pathogenic role in liver disease progression and therapeutic response has not yet been well defined. Aim: To investigate the immunophenotypic profile (naive, memory and regulatory) of B lymphocytes in individuals with chronic hepatitis C, pre-treatment with direct-acting antivirals, correlating them with other lymphocyte subsets, and virological and laboratory data. Methodology: Ten patients with CHC and ten healthy subjects participated in this study. The immunophenotypic characterization of BL subsets and other peripheral blood lymphocytic subsets were determined by flow cytometry and biochemical parameters by the kinetic-UV method, serum cryoglobulin by cryoprecipitation, autoantibodies were detected by indirect immunofluorescence and the dosage of rheumatoid factor and alpha-fetoprotein were performed using the automated microagglutination method. Results: Higher frequencies of CD19+CD24hiCD38hi (regulatory) B cells were found, which were positively correlated with CD5+ memory BL and NK cells in participants with CHC. No differences were found between subsets of CD19+ BL, TCD4+, TCD8+, NK cells, memory BL, naive BL, and CD5+ BL (naive and memory) between participants with CHC and controls. The investigated BL subpopulations, in the participants with CHC, did not present association with viral load, liver damage, tumor and autoimmunity markers. Conclusion: These data suggest that Breg cells may be directly involved in the immunoregulation of CHC.